Making a Difference

This week's Heart Card is a bit more difficult for me than last week. It's easy to mention pastors or staff who have had an impact on my spiritual growth, but I had to reach into my heart and memory to come up with the name of a fellow member, and then I found myself a little embarrassed to list the names. I know that some of these people have no idea they had an impact on my spiritual life. They may not even know or remember me. That's the thing about living the steward's life. We never know the impact we may be having on those around us. This Heart Card gives us a chance to say thanks to people who have had an impact on us, and to be aware that everything we say or do is having some impact somewhere.

A friend of mine once wrote a play called "Bianca's Wake". I thought from the title it was about a party following a funeral. It turned out the play was about a very self-centered person whose circle of friends found themselves constantly dealing with the drama of Bianca's life. The unfolding of the play was their decision to stop living in Bianca's Wake, and set themselves free to live their own lives. Each of us leaves a wake, and everyone we come in contact with will be affected in some way by that wake.

Here are the people who will appear on my heart card this week. There are more, but this is the start.

Jerry Heare and Dick Young, my long-time mentors in stewardship
Sharon W who taught my first Disciple class
Glenn Johnson who modeled that serving as Finance Chair was a faith journey, not a piece of business, and that prayer really mattered when deep decisions have to be made
Beverly Silas who taught me to say "thank you"

Some of these people have deeply-held beliefs that differ greatly from mine, but in matters of the spirit they have made a difference in my life. I never told them before, so now I follow the simple directive I learned from Beverly Silas: Thank you Beverly, Jerry, Dick, Sharon and Glenn.